Ganges Grandmasters Beat Alpine APL Pipers to Lift Maiden Global Chess League Title

Key facts

• Ganges Grandmasters defeated defending champions Alpine APL Pipers 7-5 in the two-leg final to win their maiden Global Chess League (GCL) title in Bengaluru.
• The Global Chess League, a joint initiative of Tech Mahindra and FIDE, saw Ganges Grandmasters top the Season 4 league stage on better game points among six teams.
• After the first leg of the final ended 3-3, Ian Nepomniachtchi capitalised on a move-28 positional error by world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and Stavroula Tsolakidou defeated Koneru Humpy to seal the title.
• In the opening leg, Levon Aronian beat Anish Giri, who ran out of time after 49 moves, while Volodar Murzin defeated Luke Leon Mendonca to level the tie at 3-3.
• FYERS American Gambits finished third by beating CheQ Mumba Masters 7.5-4.5 in a two-leg playoff.
• Stavroula Tsolakidou was named Player of the Tournament, scoring 21.5 points with six wins and three draws in 12 games.
• D. Harika of the Mumba Masters was the only player not to lose a game in the entire tournament, scoring 18.5 points from 12 matches with four wins and eight draws.